Hi Subscriber,
What do you think of when you hear the word, 'portrait?'
Most think in terms of people first and then maybe pets, but generally that's as far as it goes.
I have a great deal of respect for artists who specialize in portraiture. I tried my hand at it a few times, with moderate success.
But I hardly ever do anymore unless I am inwardly compelled by a face or personality. The portrait above was one of those rare exceptions.
This was the child of a dear friend and I found her sweetness and zest for life utterly disarming. She's grown now and still full of energy and the same joy she had at age five when I painted this.
I treasure that the inspiration struck when it did because I stopped doing portraits not long after this. A working artist cannot always count on a lightning strike after all.
It's not that I CAN'T paint people. It's that I prefer not to for this and a couple of other reasons.
I moved on to still life and tiny landscapes, and just naturally assumed that portraiture was behind me...until I met a different kind of portrait artist.
Hers are unconventional and yet her vision is similar to mine.
We both paint memories.
I paint antique objects like in the images below; a polished wingtip shoe like Daddy's, a friend's coffee grinder, a garden trowel, and a flour sifter like my mother had.
